You Don't Always Get What You Want
by Kirk Baldridge
Summary: A demon visits. That's never good.


NAME: Kirk Baldridge

EMAIL: 

TITLE: _You Don't Always Get What You Want_

DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of these characters, names, places, etc. They all belong to Kim Harrison, and I would just like to take this opportunity to thank her for creating them.

FANDOM: The Hollows

PAIRING: Rachel/Ivy

RATING: K+

SUMMARY: A demon visits. That's never a good thing.

SPOILER: Set somewhere between _THE OUTLAW DEMON WAILS_ and _WHITE WITCH, BLACK CURSE_.

Ivy Tamwood was having a bad night.

Her head still rung from a lead pipe swung by another living vampire, who had been trying to stop her from catching his Were girlfriend. The thieving couple had been the targets of her run, but because she didn't have anyone backing her up—Jenks was with Rachel, since she had assured them she didn't need the help—they had gotten away.

So on the way home she stopped by the Vein, a vampire hangout that had sprung up in the Hollows since Rynn Cormel decided to shut down Piscary's, for a drink. It had no MPL so there were only living, and a couple of undead, vampires around. Only in a place like this could she really be herself, with no pretenses or expectations. She knew she could get liquor, blood, a warm body, or all three, if she wanted, but usually just downed a few drinks before heading back to the church.

"Hey, Tamwood." The male bartender was a tall, muscular, blond, gorgeous hunk of living vampire, who Ivy would likely have been all over if she was more in the mood. "You want another?"

Ivy shook her head. "No thanks, Frankie. I'm leaving soon."

"Do you have to? This place is a dive without you."

He was flirting. Ivy could smell the incense. "Not tonight, Frankie. Got any aspirin?"

"Yeah." Reaching under the bar, he tossed her a little white bottle. "Keep it." He went to wait on another customer.

As Ivy took two pills with the rest of her wine, she felt a sudden shift in air pressure and turned her head, surprised to find the stool next to her occupied, where she was sure it had been empty an instant before.

The woman was small, yet solidly built, with skin not quite as pale as a typical vampire's, and a short-cropped head of black hair under a wide brimmed purple hat. She was wearing a matching purple robe with purple slippers. For some reason she was staring at her hands, lying on the bar, almost as if she had never seen them before.

Ivy's nose crinkled. This woman's scent, she wasn't a vampire, witch, human, or Were. It was familiar though. Her eyes widened. Burnt amber. She reeked of burnt amber. Rachel told her that was the smell of the ever after, and she had noticed it whenever Al had been around, as well as when Rachel came back from her lessons. Under the general burnt amber was the specific scent of this particular demon, which she remembered from when the church had been desanctified. '_Oh crap._'

The demon turned to Ivy, her unmistakable red, goat-slitted eyes wide. "Do I know you?"

"N-No." Ivy gripped her glass so tightly it began to crack. "But I think I do you. You're Newt, right?"

The demon blinked. "Yes." She looked back down at her hands. "Why did I come here?"

'_She's just as crazy as Rachel said._' Ivy shook her head. "I have no idea. I do know you don't belong here." She didn't bother to lower her voice. Even with all the noise in the bar; music, arguing, a few couples going at it, any vampire who cared to would easily be able to overhear their conversation. "You should go back to the ever after. I'm sure someone is looking for you."

Newt frowned. "Not yet. They don't know I'm gone yet. They can't keep track of me, not since Minias." Her familiar. Another demon that had reluctantly helped Rachel several times. He was supposedly dead. "Why am I here? I came to this side of the lines before, looking for something. I don't remember what. Why did I come to you?"

Ivy glanced at a clock on the wall and blanched. The sun wouldn't be up for a couple of hours, which gave the demon plenty of time to do whatever she felt like until she was compelled to go back to the ever after. If what Rachel said was true, and she had no reason to doubt it, this demon could wipe the floor with every vampire in the Vein without breaking a sweat. "Al would know." Newt jerked her head up. "Why don't you go ask Al? Make him tell you why you came here."

Newt leaned closer to the vampire, who tried not to flinch. "You know of Algaliarept?" She looked Ivy up and down. "You're one of the blood bearers, aren't you?" She spread her arms to encompass the room. "They all are." She turned back to Ivy. "A vampire who knows Algaliarept. That's why I came to you. You are the one my daughter wants to save."

Ivy shook her head. "Daughter? What are you talking about?"

"No!" Newt slapped the side of her head. "She's not…daughter. Descendant. Too many generations." She hit herself again. "Too many. Too many." She frowned. "We are barely related at all. I forgot. That's why I came to find her." She grabbed Ivy's arm, and the vampire couldn't help hissing as she felt something pop. "She wants to save you. I want to stop her."

Ivy's arm was really hurting now. "Let go!" To her surprise, Newt released her and she clutched her arm to her chest. "You're talking about Rachel, aren't you?" Her eyes started to turn black. "The woman I love! Leave her alone!"

"Hey!" Frankie reappeared. "Tamwood." He could smell her fear and now rising anger. "You okay?" He glared at Newt. "This little…whatever the hell she is, bothering you?" He leaned over the bar. "Vamps only."

Newt, moving even faster than the vampires could follow, grabbed Frankie by the hair and slammed his face into the bar, gushing blood everywhere as his nose was shattered. She released him and he slumped to the floor, out of sight. All activity in the Vein ceased as the smell of blood got everyone's attention. "I didn't like him."

Ivy lurched to her feet. "Damn you!"

"Too late. Did that myself." Newt tapped her brow. "It's all in here, you know. If it got out, everyone would burn." She stared right into Ivy's black eyes. "She loves you. I wouldn't care, but if she fixes you, she could fix herself, and I can't have that. She can bring them back. I don't want them to come back. I have to stop her." Her face fell. "I have to…to…"

Ivy held her breath. Rachel said Newt tended to forget things and wander away, and it looked like that was happening now. '_Maybe we'll make it through this after all._' Sitting in plain view and easy reach on the bar, Ivy's cell phone began vibrating. The screen lit up with RACHEL. ANSWER? Her eyes went to it, as did Newt's. The fading light of recognition grew stronger. '_Crap._'

"I remember now. She's in the church. Why am I here?" Newt slid off the stool and vanished.

Ivy lunged for her phone. "Rachel! Get out of there! She's coming!"

Rachel sounded surprised and confused. "Ivy, are you okay? What's going on?" There was a muffled sound in the background and then a loud swear from Rachel. "Jenks, get your kids out of here! Now! Ivy! Newt's here! How did you know?"

"I'll explain later. Get in a circle. I'm on my way!" Ivy hung up her phone and raced for the door.

Rachel Morgan was having a good night.

Jenks had gone with her on a run, because Ivy insisted she didn't need any help on hers, and she was glad he did. She had taken down the undead vamp that was kidnapping children, with a healthy dose of ley line energy and two shots from her splat gun, but the always-observant pixy was the one who discovered where he had hidden the kids.

Back home Jenks was swarmed by his own children as soon as they came inside. They told him the news had mentioned a cold snap falling on Cincinnati and they were worried about him. He regaled them with tales of his bravery--Rachel was amused to learn she had apparently imagined taking the vampire down—and they applauded him. She allowed him this because it didn't hurt anything, it made his kids happy, and they had been well paid, so who really cared about credit?

Rachel took a shower and put on her favorite Bite Me Betty pajamas, given to her by Ivy last solstice. As she went to the kitchen to get a glass of warm milk, she glanced at the clock and noticed how late it was. '_Ivy should have been back by now._' She wasn't really worried, not too much could actually threaten the toughest living vampire in Cincinnati, but to make herself feel better she decided to call her. Digging the cell phone out of her purse, she speed-dialed the number under ICE.

Ivy's voice sounded frantic. "Rachel! Get out of there! She's coming!"

Rachel frowned. '_I wonder what's gotten into her?_' Then it occurred to her Ivy had been on a run too. If things had gone badly, what had gotten into her might be a couple of drinks, or a few pints of blood, at the Vein. "Ivy, are you okay? What's going on?" She was about to ask if Ivy needed a ride home, but before she could, she felt a sudden, and unfortunately familiar, shift in air pressure. A purple robed figure appeared, floating in midair a foot above Kisten's pool table. "Shit!" She looked to the pixies, which were on their way to see what the commotion was. "Jenks, get your kids out of here! Now!" He recognized Newt and was just as scared as she. Whistling, the pixy led his brood out the nearest window. "Ivy! Newt's here! How did you know?"

"I'll explain later. Get in a circle. I'm on my way!"

Rachel dropped her phone. '_Like a circle is going to do any good?_' Ceri had put up three the last time Newt had been in the church and she had broken them almost like they were tissue paper. Her eyes widened as Newt started to turn her way. '_Crap on toast! Are we going to have to get it sanctified again? God, we barely got that paid off the last time._'

The demon landed on the pool table and glanced down as her feet struck several of the balls. Seeing the action and reaction whenever she moved her purple slippers kept her distracted for a couple of minutes, but just as quickly, she lost interest and hopped off. Rachel waited just long enough for Newt to see her; she wanted the demon focused on her so Jenks could get away and she hopefully wouldn't do anything to the church, but her inner voice screamed it was a very bad idea. '_Run, witch!_' She had a calling circle prepared in the kitchen, though she rarely had cause to use it, and she need to get to it, even if it only slowed Newt down momentarily. '_I have to call Al. He can tell somebody in the ever after Newt has crossed the lines again._'

The demon was quick to follow. "No! Do not summon Algaliarept! I do not want to go back!"

Rachel's steps faltered. '_Can she read my mind? That's a scary thought._' She got to her circle and invoked it with "Rhombus!" As the bubble of ever after formed over the witch, she breathed a sigh of relief. It wouldn't stop her, of course, but if Newt wanted to get to her now at least she would have to make an effort, albeit a minor one. "Newt?"

Clearly surprised, the demon stopped in her tracks, red goat-slitted eyes widening. "You know my name?"

Rachel's eyes widened. '_She doesn't remember me?_' She shook her head. "Why are you here?"

"I have to stop you. You'll bring them back."

"Who?"

Newt shook her head. "I don't remember. I don't want you to save them."

'_What am I supposed to do? Without Minias to calm her down, I'm going to have to keep her busy until the sun comes up._' Rachel glanced at a clock. '_Shit! Nearly two hours?_' She wished Ceri was around, but the pretty elf was off doing something with Quen and their baby and wasn't supposed to be back for a couple of days. "Newt!" The demon jerked her head around. "I'll help you if I can. Who do you think I'm going to bring back or help? Tell me and I'll promise I won't. Is that good enough?"

Newt levitated and began peering into various hanging pots in the kitchen. "You cannot promise what you do not understand." She found Rachel's splat gun, making the witch swear under her breath, and tossed it aside before moving to examine the various books scattered around the room. "You want to save her. Saving her is saving them. I don't like them."

Rachel frowned as she tried to figure out whom Newt was talking about. '_Who does she think I'm trying to save?_' It dawned on her that since gaining access to the wealth of demon knowledge in Al's library, she had redoubled her efforts to help Ivy maintain her soul after her first death. She was barely a step closer, but it was possible that information had gotten to Newt. '_Why would she care?_' Unless there was some rivalry between vampires and demons she was unaware of, most likely Newt just focused on her randomly and now she was the one who would have to deal with it. "I won't help them, Newt. Okay? You can go home."

Newt floated over to Rachel and touched her circle with a single finger. The purple fabric of her glove smoldered as she pressed it against the powerful ever after energy. "You're lying. You love her. You won't stop, until you're dead, or she is." She shook her head. "Love is a trick nature plays to get us to reproduce. I won't fall for it. I won't let it happen again."

Rachel heard the front door burst open. '_Ivy's home._' The vampire came racing into the room, eyes sin black and fangs exposed. She snarled at Newt, who spun around to face her. '_Oh God. She's lost it._' Ivy was stronger, faster, and tougher than the average living vampire, but even she was no match for a demon, let alone the most powerful demon in the ever after. "Ivy!" If the vampire heard her, she gave no sign. "I have to end this before someone gets hurt." She touched her circle, breaking it, and while Newt was distracted got up and ran to Ivy. She grabbed the vampire's shoulders. "Ivy! Snap out of it!" Ivy started, as if seeing Rachel for the first time. Satisfied she had broken the initial blood haze she turned back to Newt, who as staring at them with her head cocked. "Are you going to leave?"

"No."

"Have it your way." Rachel tapped the ley line behind the church and spindled energy as it flowed into her. Newt eyes widened. '_She can feel what I'm doing? Oh crap._' She had to hurry, before Newt decided to stop her. She mentally drew a circle around the demon, knowing she would only have a moment to invoke it. '_Rhombus!_' The demon looked shocked as the energy encircled her, and she touched various parts of it as if testing it. Rachel knew she could break it if she wanted to, but even she couldn't do it instantaneously. "Demon! You are no longer welcome here. I command you to return to the ever after!" She held her breath. While she had banished demons before, disturbingly more than anyone else in the world probably, except for actual demon summoners, a part of her was afraid it would not work on Newt. Al had once told her Newt was beyond the rules because she had written most of them.

Newt's face scrunched up in a conflicted mass of emotions. "No!" Her body began to get misty. "No! I don't want to go! You don't understand! You can't! You're mine! I can't let you! What you do reflects on me! You…" The demon's essence collapsed in on itself, and with a thunderous pop the air inside the circle compressed and she was gone.

Rachel sighed in relief as she released the line and let the circle drop. "What was that all about?"

"She's nuts." The black faded from Ivy's eyes. "Does she need any more of a reason?"

Rachel shrugged her shoulders. "I guess not. I just wish Minias were still around. He was the most reasonable one of the bunch, and he could probably explain what the hell Newt was doing here."

'_I'll tell her what Newt said_,' Ivy said to herself. '_Later. I don't think she can deal with it right now._'

THE END


End file.
